Ellington Committee to Discuss Adding AP Bio, Latin to High School Curriculum

The Ellington Board of Education is looking into adding two new college-level classes to the list of courses at Ellington High School.

The board's Curriculum Committee will meet at 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18, where it will hear proposals from school officials on adding Advanced Placement Biology and Advanced Placement Latin as options for Ellington juniors and seniors.

If the committee votes to approve the proposals, then they will be brought before the full board next week for further discussion and a potential vote, said curriculum Chairman Gary Blanchette. 

Students who take AP courses often go on to take the AP test which, if scored high enough, grants college-bound seniors credit toward their higher education degrees.

Blanchette said part of the idea to add more AP courses comes from a recent visit from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). He said the organization saw how many Ellington students were scoring well on the advanced tests, and NEASC recommended increasing the AP course offerings.

Blanchette also said the district did offer an AP biology class in the past, however it was dropped because the teacher accredited to teach that course had retired. 

During the 2013 AP testing season, 110 students from Ellington took a total of 142 exams. Out of all of the 142 tests taken, 116 scored at a 3, 4, or 5. 

Ellington offers a variety of AP courses already, including history, chemistry, English, music theory, microeconomics, Spanish and others.